The hard truth I learned from digitizing my wardrobe

hint: why I'm selling pieces I genuinely loved, and how you can get first access.

Hey friends,

I’m back! I know I’ve been MIA around here this summer. It wasn’t planned, but this is the season when I feel a natural pull to slow down.

Real talk — between the hustle of publishing content on multiple platforms and a recent health flare-up, I needed a break from constantly being on and endlessly trying to optimize my creativity to keep up with the speed of content. This letter from

Valerie

said everything I couldn’t articulate about how I was feeling, and I devoured it more times than I’d care to admit.

Anyway, I’m here now and that’s what matters. Thank you for sticking around. It means the world to me.

Outfit details — Cape Cod outfit diary coming soon!

I may have been quiet here, but I’ve been busy styling clients on Indyx. Guys, it’s SO. MUCH. FUN. I absolutely love that I get to do this, and my clients are loving their lookbooks too. This recent review honestly made my whole week and captures exactly why I love this work.

<3 <3 <3

Speaking of Indyx, I’m also in the trenches (sorry, I can’t help it) of digitizing my wardrobe on the platform. This week, I hit 144 items. ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR. And I’ve barely scratched the surface. So far, I’ve only added my summer stuff (not even all of it!) and just started on fall pieces.

I literally stared at my phone screen and felt this wave of... panic? Overwhelm? Pure exhaustion at the thought of owning this much stuff. Like, when did this even happen? How did I accumulate 144+++ pieces and still have those mornings standing in front of my closet feeling like I have nothing to wear?

Just the tip of the iceberg

Here’s the hard truth: I thought I was being so intentional. I thought I was truly identifying my wardrobe MVPs and buying smart. But I was still overconsuming, just with a fancier justification.

You know that philosophy “if you love something and wear it all the time, buy it in every color”? Some people advise against it, but I told myself, this works for me because I know which pieces are my real MVPs. So, I took that and ran with it. But why do I have over 10 pairs of jeans when I realistically wear maybe 3 or 4? I convinced myself each one served a different purpose, but honestly? I was just applying that “buy it in every color” logic to pieces where it doesn’t make sense.

Indyx pro-tip: If you’re thinking about digitizing your closet, maybe start with just one category. It might just surprise you…

But of course, that rule works perfectly for tanks and basic tees — the actual workhorses I wear constantly (I stand by my Flore Flore collector status!) But blazers? I don’t need six when I mostly work from home and throw on once, maybe twice a month. Context matters — and for my life right now, three good ones would do the job.

I also might have gone rogue on “curating” my personality pieces over the years. Some items I genuinely loved — like the Toteme scarf jacket. I wore it constantly for many seasons and loved it, but now I’m ready to say adieu.

And the Juju shell necklace? I actually resisted the OG version because I thought it was too IT of an item, but when Moda came out with an exclusive tassel design, I justified it by telling myself it was different from the original everyone was wearing (plus I had site credit). I absolutely loved wearing it, but at just under 5’4”, the tassel makes it too long for my short-ish torso — it works with dresses or skirts, but just looks off with jeans and pants, which is what I live in year-round.

Outfit details — I still love you Juju <3

Real talk, there were also the other “it pieces” (ahem… jelly flats) I bought just because they were must-haves. Looking at some of those now, I’m asking myself: did I actually love these, or was I just caught up in the hype? How many of these purchases were emotional reactions to feeling like I was missing out rather than genuine excitement about wearing them?

Do I regret buying these pieces I genuinely loved? Not at all. But they deserve homes where they’ll actually get worn. And seeing that number made it clear: I just want less stuff.

Not in a minimalist, capsule wardrobe way (be for real, I love clothes), but in a “every single thing I own should earn its place” way. I want a really tight edit. I want to eliminate the decision fatigue and the pieces that sound good in theory but don’t work for my actual life.

It turns out there’s a massive difference between collecting clothes and curating a wardrobe, and I was fooling myself about which one I was doing. So I’m doing something I should have done ages ago: a major edit. Keeping only the pieces that work for my actual life and letting go of everything else.

LWSF Closet Drops

Which brings me to something I’m excited to share — I’m turning this big reality-check cleanout into a series of curated drops for my readers. Instead of overwhelming you with everything at once, I’ll be featuring a curation of individual pieces with detailed styling notes and full outfit suggestions for each one.

Think of it as getting a mini styling session with every piece — because these aren’t just clothes I’m parting with, they’re beautiful items that deserve to find someone who’ll wear them regularly.

The first drop launches this Sunday, 8/31 and will feature one of the pieces I mentioned earlier ;) Each drop will include my honest thoughts on why I’m letting it go, detailed sizing, and most importantly, how to style it in different ways so you can maximize its potential in your wardrobe.

How the drops work:

Paid subscribers get exclusive 72-hour early access to each drop at subscriber-only pricing (20% below prices on TheRealReal or what I’d list them on Vestiaire). After the exclusive window closes, any remaining pieces become available to all subscribers (at standard pre-loved pricing) with the same detailed styling notes included.

The drops are just the beginning. This fall, I’m excited to launch more exclusive content for paid subscribers, including deeper dives into styling frameworks, curated seasonal edits, client transformation stories, and early access to new styling services.

If you want first dibs on my closet drops, upgrade below and be the first to shop each curated release.

This whole digitizing process has become an unexpected lesson in my own shopping psychology. There’s so much more to unpack (lol) here. I’ll be sharing more insights as I continue my collector-to-curator journey.

Anyone else ever caught themselves buying with the best intentions but still ending up with too much? See ya in the comments?? I know I’m not the only one!

xx Angela